Cute Product Alert

So I bought this new snack tray for Isota and I love it so much I am devoting a whole blog post to it. It's called a Nibble Tray, and in addition to being uber-cute and pineapple shaped, it is extremely useful: divided sections for an array of snacks, plus a removable and freezable green section that can hold cold stuff like dips, yogurt, etc. Plus a lid and BPA-free plastic. Score! The reason I am loving it so much is that Isota is definitely not thrilled about sitting so still for high chair meals at the moment. It's way more fun to run around and stand up and graze at the living room table to refuel. Not the best habit, but definitely a toddler trait at this age. I am kind of a stickler about nutrition and can get a little hyper over her meals, about what she eats and what she refuses. (Though I think I am getting a bit more relaxed about it, I swear!) She is getting a bit pickier now, not inhaling vegetables with the same fervor she used to, but I still need to offer up all the good stuff like that every day. As the wisdom goes, it's the parent's job to provide the healthful food and the kid's job to decide what and how much of it she wants to eat. This little snack tray wonder lets me fill it with calorie/nutrient dense snacks, Sody can choose what she wants and how much she wants, and I can rest easy that I am offering up a variety of nutrients. She may still refuse some stuff, but so far she seems more willing to try something if it's in the tray. Maybe it's just more fun to eat out of a pineapple.

Plus, the lid makes it portable and easy for when we go babysitting. Have I mentioned that I have sort-of gone back to work? Three days a week I babysit and Sody comes with me. Three different families, three great kids, all close-ish in age to Isota. The kids get a playmate, we get a little extra dough, I get exhausted. Fun times!

I Love My Dad, Even When I Am Sick

Father's Day Weekend: the zoo, brunch with my folks, and mini ice cream cones. The reason Sody looks a little zonked in these shots is because she caught yet another cold, and this one is a really good and disgusting drippy one. Poor thing. Here's the pic that sums up the day:



We did have a lovely brunch, despite the looks of that one above. Though in a haze of brunch cocktails and chatter, we all neglected to notice Sody eating jam out of a packet WITH A KNIFE. A dull butter knife that can barely cut through toast probably, but still - a knife. Eating jam straight is one (terrible) thing, but doing it in that fashion is just a whole new level of parental neglect. Witness:



Later, she was feeling so crappy and acting like such a trooper I felt like I had to reward her efforts with an ice cream. She handed it back to me after only a couple bites. A kid who won't finish her ice cream is definitely a sick kid.



The day before we headed out for Isota's first time at the Oakland Zoo. The sun bear and the giraffes were a hit, but the carousel ride...not so much. Of course, who can blame her - sick and sleepy and your parents make you ride a giant fake chimp that goes in circles. She must think adults are totally nuts.

Australia, You Are Lucky

Last weekend we lost some friends to Australia. That is to say we have some Australian friends who have lived here a few years and last weekend they moved back to Australia. I am not happy about this one bit. Not only did they take their rad selves back, but they also took their insanely adorable son Lenny with them. He is one week older than Isota and kind of her soulmate/boyfriend. We basically have wedding plans underway for the two little nuggets.

We met Dan and Alice when Alice and I were both pregnant and enrolled in Childbirth Preparation classes through our hospital. Joe and I clicked pretty quickly with them, which seems to be kind of a rare thing when you are an adult. It's hard to make new friends as a grownup. When you are younger you have the confines of the school day, or a dorm room, or whatever to throw you together and help you with those bonds. And you have the luxury of time. When everyone grows up, they get lives and jobs and kids and all of that stuff precludes all the easy going hanging out that seems necessary to find and keep a proper friend. You just have to work so much harder at making friend time as an adult. Coordinating schedules. Making sure the kids are all taken care of. Making sure you yourself can stay awake for a night out. Etc. But when you do find people that you click with, you really want to make that friend time happen. It's a little more precious. You want to hang on to it, preserve it, foster it.

That's Dan and Alice to us. Add in to the equation the fact that our kids get on so well, and it's pretty perfect. We noticed it from the very first time Lenny and Sody met - they were just itty bitty things, couldn't do much more than lay on a blanket, but still we saw how they gravitated toward each other. They would kind of stick together, roll to each other, grab each other's hands. Very very cute to watch your tiny baby make her first friend. We all didn't get to hang out nearly enough over the past year - jobs and schedules and lives be damned! - but we already miss you guys. We will think of you every time we read "One Wooly Wombat."


the happy couple meets for the first time


hanging out at ten months old


Isota on the last night she saw lenny

(really, this face is because she was waaaaay past her bedtime - but in her heart of hearts I think she was missing him)

Badminton, Anyone?

With all this pretty weather lately, Isota thought she needed to brush up on her outdoor summer game skills. One always must be prepared in case one gets invited to a toddler badminton party.

Older and Hopefully Wiser

June 2 brought Joe's birthday and Isota's 17 month birthday, not that anyone is keeping count around here. Since Sody so generously gave Joe a big fat gross cold for his birthday, we had a nice little low-key birthday dinner here to celebrate: mac n' cheese, brussels sprouts (yes, that is my husband's fave), garlic bread, marble cake and ice cream. Joe wasn't feeling 100% and neither was Sody, which became obvious when she didn't attack the birthday cake with much gusto. Still, it was lovely to sit together at the dining room table and share a meal - a rarity that hopefully becomes less so as time goes on. The little stuff like that really does go far.

Happy Birthday, Hubs!! Middle age looks good on you. ;)